FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

It was an unexpected end of the National Assembly's 12th session on Monday. This is how our parliamentarians behave and they close most what are called "the national issues" without taking them to a logical conclusion. The same parliamentarians were yelling for over a week or so that Pakistan is about to fall to Taliban.
Some of them were telling us that Margalla hills are the only obstacle in the militants' way to capture the federal capital. This week we were expecting something serious to come from these parliamentarians as they were supposed to give their inputs for national security strategy.
Senator Raza Rabbani-led Parliamentary Committee on National Security has already tabled its recommendations in the house. Not even single point was raised from any member of the house about the threats to the national security which are not coming from Taliban in FATA or Swat only, but from Balochistan, as well.
After the prorogation order was read out by the MQM MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi, who chaired the session in the 'mysterious and simultaneous' absence of speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, there was general impression that how much our politicians are really concerned about the security of the motherland. Last week Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had advised that house should remain in session. What was his rationale?
It was simply that the house should discuss the issues and challenges facing the country. The Prime Minster had said that he was giving this advice after he had talked to the PML (N) leader and former Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. One could ask the Prime Minister the purpose for which the session was extended could deliver nothing. It would have been far better to have the house prorogued last week.
The PML (N) MNAs like Ahsan Iqbal, Ayaz Amir and others, who turned up briefly in the proceedings never objected to the house prorogation. This stance of the PML (N) created more doubts. The house was to continue its session during this week. Its abrupt adjournment raised some eyebrows when British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was visiting Pakistan. He had busy schedule in Islamabad. Our policy is made in consultation with people in the west and that might be the reason that the house was prorogued as a leader of our one western ally was here.
Parliament affairs minister Dr Babar Awan had a kind of answer to it. Talking to media persons in the parliament house, he said, "It has been decided that all the Parliamentary leaders would be consulted over the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and then these would be discussed in the National Assembly." He said after the decision, which was agreed between the government and the Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, the NA session was prorogued.
Behind the scene, most political observers say, the opposition and the ruling elite are reading from the same page. All the parties in the government and the opposition must have agreed to this "irrelevant" Monday agenda of the National Assembly in the house business advisory committee that meets prior to the session.
The remarkable incident was the pointing of quorum. This national duty was done by PML (Q) MNA Ms Begum Shahnaz Sheikh. This was probably for the first time that this lady spoke on the floor in the last session. Nothing more important could she take up.
Personal explanations were given again in the house. MNAs look to be more interested in clarifying things meted out against them in the course of the proceedings. Leader of the opposition and PML (N) central leader, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan spoke at some length to clarify certain things uttered by Faisal Saleh Hayat against him in his speech in the house.
Former PPP stalwart now featuring in the PML (Q), Faisal Hayat had attacked what could be called an "attack against Nisar in person". On Monday, Chaudhry Nisar considered it necessary to respond to accusations of the PML (Q) leader. Nisar's explanation opened Pandora Box and MQM also demanded that its "self exiled" leader Altaf Hussain should also be spared from criticism in the national assembly.
They accused that Chaudhry Nisar should have avoided criticism of Altaf Hussain. Political forces do try to bury their past blunders and the same surface again and again in one way or the other. The National Assembly ended its business without giving inputs for national agenda.
The Senate is also poised to end its present session in a few days. The senate had threadbare discussion on Balochistan issue. A few days back, when something important was to be told the upper house opted for close door meeting. This was considered to be feasible. It was done in this way for the sake of supreme national interest.
The Senate's in-camera session was held a few days after some senators including Raza Rabbani of the PPP and Zahid Khan of the ANP had demanded that political government and the country's establishment should sit together and redefine "the national interest."
We do not know as to what was the exact outcome of the in-camera briefing, but from the general discussion, the Balochistan issue stands 'more complicated' One can say it for sure that when the upper house concludes its present session, the net outcome will be nothing more than zero. A man in the street will describe the sessions only a futile exercise.